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Building high-performing sales teams is a top priority for every business leader.
But building a team that consistently delivers is easier said than done.
Businesses will spend huge budgets trying to hire high-performing reps…
Unfortunately, they often end up right where they started.
Building a Winning Team Doesn’t Have to Be a Money Pit
Despite all the money they’ve spent, they still aren’t taking their sales performance to the next level.
If you’re a business leader or sales manager eager to crush your quotas quarter after quarter, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
Here are 3 killer solutions for building a stronger sales team:
Tip #1 For Building High-Performing Sales Teams – Let Go of Underperformers
We get it. Letting salespeople go is hard.
But how many times have you waited for a salesperson to start delivering who never reaches expectations?
A strong sales team only has room for overachievers. You need to show your high performers that you don’t have tolerance for freeloaders.
In short, show that delivering revenue is the only way to stay on the team. The sooner you let go of an underperformer, the sooner you can start looking for your next great salesperson.
Tip #2 for Building High-Performing Sales Teams: Hire Based on Objective Metrics
When selecting candidates, forget about your gut or intuition. You will make great sales hires way more often if you focus on objective criteria.
Consider someone’s track record of delivering revenue. How often did they meet their goals at prior positions? Furthermore, what environments have they been successful in? How well did they answer your structured interview questions?
However, don’t put too much weight in years of experience. While experience can predict success, the opposite is also true at times.
We’ve all seen “young gun” candidates who burned with ambition and crushed their goals.
Likewise, we’ve all seen a experienced reps who struggled to adapt to a new team. Above all, a strong track record beats experience.
Tip #3 for Building High-Performing Sales Teams: Test Sales Candidates
Tests are another great way to ensure you’re picking high performers. Put candidates through a typical selling scenario at your company. Similarly, ask them to pitch your company.
Ask them hard questions about a product. You can even use pressure interviews to see how they deal when a sale is slipping away from them.
In conclusion, a test can help you get beyond the resume and learn about someone’s attitude, skills, and tenacity in sales.
Tip #4 for Building a High-Performing Sales Team: Understand the Difference Between Sales Coaching and Sales Training
We’ve all hired sales professionals with a record of performing, who couldn’t deliver on our team.
Naturally, most sales managers first reaction is to try sales training.
However, sales training only helps your team build new skills. Sometimes, the issue has nothing to do with skill!
Ask yourself one question. Is your sales training focused on what you want FROM your reps, or FOR your reps. If your sales enablement program is only focused on what you want FROM your salespeople, it will always fail.
That’s where sales coaching comes in. It’s about coaching your salespeople to achieve greater success FOR themselves.
Furthermore, sales coaching is about helping your team define their goals and helping them reach their potential.
Great sales come from great sales coaching AND sales training programs.
Tip #5 for Building a High-Performing Sales Team: Set the Right Goals
It’s common sense that goals are important for success. Unfortunately, many leaders don’t set the right goals.
Start with SMART Goals. SMART goals are:
- Specific – A good goal is very clear and well-defined.
- Measurable – If a goal isn’t measurable, you won’t know if you met your goal. As such, set a target number so you know whether you meet your goal or not.
- Attainable – A goal that’s too far out of reach will only demoralize your sales professionals. Likewise, a good goal should push your team while remaining possible.
- Relevant – A productive goal is something that really matters to you and your team. Does it align with your priorities?
- Time-Bound – A target date focuses your work and ensures the goal gets done. Give the goal a deadline!
In addition, it’s a good idea to set SMART goals for the whole team and individual reps.
Team-based goals motivate your team to share tips, advice, and insights. In other words, it helps motivate your team to work together so everyone succeeds.
One piece most sales leaders miss is WHY. As a sales leader or sales manager, you have to know why individual goals matter to your team.
Dig deeper than a revenue goal. Understand why each team member wants to meet their goals. For example, one team member might want to save up for a down payment on a new house. Another team member might be saving up for a nice vacation, or to take care of their family.
Ask your team to identify WHY their goals matter to them. Sales coaching is way more effective when you can remind a team member why they care about reaching their goals.
In conclusion, your team needs smart, meaningful goals to win.
Your All-Star Sales Team is Waiting
It’s not easy building a winning sales team. However, there are few tasks that are more important to the long-term success of your business. With high-performing sales teams, your business will thrive for decades.
Schedule a consultation with us today to learn how to build your strongest sales team ever.
